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New Xbox Team Forms to Push Kinect

It's a real shame they didn't have any employees working on Kinect software development before the Bone released. Seems like a real miss.

im sure they had people working on it, they just put most of their hopes on third party developers taking the tech and running with it. the ultimate goal was having kinect in TV's and many other devices so they could collect licensing fees. it was never about gaming.
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
They just won't let that bad idea go. *sigh*

Maybe this will be the team to finally find something awesome to do with it. Others have tried and failed, someone will eventually do it, right?

Looking back, I remember the TGS with Steel Battalion, those were hopeful times. Japan failed.
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
And so another cycle of Microsoft burning money on things no one wants begins once again.

In a few months it should Windows Mobile's turn.

I don't care what anyone says, Kinect has done a lot of great things outside of gaming for people with disabilities.

If you don't like it then ignore it but I'd rather see them continue to develop the technology on the device as a user of it and a s someone who would like to see it continue to do good in the world.

Yep. They had their chance and blew it.
Now the only place to push it is under the bus.

I'm glad you don't run these companies if your reaction to failure is to give up.
 
Hopefully they improve speech recognition and shorten phrasing.

It's really about time they allowed for less strict phrasing when trying to access games/apps. Why do I need to say Xbox, Go to Amazon Instant Video and then why do I have to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant Video, Nextup when I want to start the next episode?

It's so ridiculous. Allow me to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant and then make sure there are app specific phrases. So I should only have to say, Xbox, Nextup instead of everything else.
 

JaggedSac

Member
Hopefully they improve speech recognition and shorten phrasing.

It's really about time they allowed for less strict phrasing when trying to access games/apps. Why do I need to say Xbox, Go to Amazon Instant Video and then why do I have to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant Video, Nextup when I want to start the next episode?

It's so ridiculous. Allow me to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant and then make sure there are app specific phrases. So I should only have to say, Xbox, Nextup instead of everything else.

Agreed, hopefully Cortana fixes some of these issues. That will certainly improve recognition since that would make a network call. It would obviously take a few hundred milliseconds longer, but id be happy with that.
 

Raist

Banned
Well better late than never I guess.

Or maybe the job ad has been up for 2 years and no one bothered to apply.

Hopefully they improve speech recognition and shorten phrasing.

It's really about time they allowed for less strict phrasing when trying to access games/apps. Why do I need to say Xbox, Go to Amazon Instant Video and then why do I have to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant Video, Nextup when I want to start the next episode?

It's so ridiculous. Allow me to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant and then make sure there are app specific phrases. So I should only have to say, Xbox, Nextup instead of everything else.

Could have been worse.

"dear Xbox, pretty please go to amazon instant. Bless you. All hail Phil".
 

Derpyduck

Banned
I don't care what anyone says, Kinect has done a lot of great things outside of gaming for people with disabilities.

If you don't like it then ignore it but I'd rather see them continue to develop the technology on the device as a user of it and a s someone who would like to see it continue to do good in the world.

Agreed. I hope this endeavor is not Xbox related at all. The Kinect is a great device, it's just not a great video game device, and it's sad that to get voice commands we have to buy the model with the huge camera instead of simply speaking into a headset.
 

Apathy

Member
This is sort of the thing you do before you release a console that had a mandatory kinect, not after you already fragment the user base.
 
The vitriol spewed about Kinect on GAF is laughable. Some of you act as if it is a direct attack against you.

Its an attack on common sense. Why replace a perfectly acceptable and predictable button press with waving your arms in the air with unpredictable results?
 

jem0208

Member
Hopefully they improve speech recognition and shorten phrasing.

It's really about time they allowed for less strict phrasing when trying to access games/apps. Why do I need to say Xbox, Go to Amazon Instant Video and then why do I have to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant Video, Nextup when I want to start the next episode?

It's so ridiculous. Allow me to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant and then make sure there are app specific phrases. So I should only have to say, Xbox, Nextup instead of everything else.
It's ridiculous with the Halo 5 beta.


"Xbox, go to Halo 5 Guardians, Multiplayer beta" it's almost faster just to go find the title. The system should easily be able to manage if you just say "Halo 5"
 

NeoGIF

Member
qTHxOZx.gif

LMFAO!!! I couldn't have said it any better myself.
 

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
The time for creating a killer app for Kinect was before X1 launched.

I honestly can't believe they're still throwing money at this thing. Xbox One is finally seeing some success in the market specifically because they cut out the Kinect and dropped the price.
 

Diknak

Neo Member
I didn't think I was going to like the kinect after 1.0 sucked ass. But with the xbox one, it is a very nice addition and I often times catch myself trying to give voice commands to other TVs.

It's shit for games, but great for added functionality.
 

Bessy67

Member
It's ridiculous with the Halo 5 beta.


"Xbox, go to Halo 5 Guardians, Multiplayer beta" it's almost faster just to go find the title. The system should easily be able to manage if you just say "Halo 5"
Diablo 3 is worse. It's "Xbox, go to Diablo III Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition". Shortcut phrases would be nice.
 

tokkun

Member
Seems like people in this thread are having a hard time detaching their distaste for Kinect as a mandatory peripheral from its potential as an optional one.

Kinect for 360 revitalized sales of that system in the US last generation. It ought to be obvious why Microsoft would continue trying to sell it to people. It got unbundled because it cost a lot and was not embraced by the hardcore audience who drive early adoption. When component prices drop and the more casual audience starts to drive sales, Microsoft wants to sell them Kinects.
 
Kinda ties into Spencer's comments after the Kinect-less X1 announcement, which left me wondering how they'd go about it.

"This might seem backwards, but I believe the decision we made to allow people to buy Xbox One without Kinect included, in the end, will actually lead to more Kinects in the market," he said. "I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5806096/xbox-one-no-kinect

I'm satisfied with what it offers me currently, so any further uses is cool in my book.
 

Apathy

Member
Diablo 3 is worse. It's "Xbox, go to Diablo III Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition". Shortcut phrases would be nice.

I love old threads on the topic where people defend the fact that some of those launch phrases are fine because it's rare. The delusion is real.
 

Derpyduck

Banned

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
I didn't think I was going to like the kinect after 1.0 sucked ass. But with the xbox one, it is a very nice addition and I often times catch myself trying to give voice commands to other TVs.

It's shit for games, but great for added functionality.
I think it's sad that the best use for Kinect 2.0 is as a simple microphone.

Kinect is amazing technology but it's useless for gaming. I wish MS would focus more on other applications.
 

JaggedSac

Member
Kinda ties into Spencer's comments after the Kinect-less X1 announcement, which left me wondering how they'd go about it.

"This might seem backwards, but I believe the decision we made to allow people to buy Xbox One without Kinect included, in the end, will actually lead to more Kinects in the market," he said. "I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5806096/xbox-one-no-kinect

I'm satisfied with what it offers me currently, so any further uses is cool in my book.

Yep.
 
Hopefully they improve speech recognition and shorten phrasing.

It's really about time they allowed for less strict phrasing when trying to access games/apps. Why do I need to say Xbox, Go to Amazon Instant Video and then why do I have to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant Video, Nextup when I want to start the next episode?

It's so ridiculous. Allow me to say Xbox, go to Amazon Instant and then make sure there are app specific phrases. So I should only have to say, Xbox, Nextup instead of everything else.

I think that improvement will come with the rumoured Cortana integration, hopefully we'll find out this month.
 

Derpyduck

Banned
I think it's sad that the best use for Kinect 2.0 is as a simple microphone.

Kinect is amazing technology but it's useless for gaming. I wish MS would focus more on other applications.

It should also be great for menu navigation ala Minority Report, but they appeared to do absolutely nothing to improve upon that from the 360 to Xbox One. Using hand gestures on the Xbox One is just ridiculously awful.
 

Ascenion

Member
Kinda ties into Spencer's comments after the Kinect-less X1 announcement, which left me wondering how they'd go about it.

"This might seem backwards, but I believe the decision we made to allow people to buy Xbox One without Kinect included, in the end, will actually lead to more Kinects in the market," he said. "I believe that you've got to sell the console before you can sell Kinect.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/13/5806096/xbox-one-no-kinect

I'm satisfied with what it offers me currently, so any further uses is cool in my book.

I had never seen that quote before but damned if Phil isn't right. I can imagine thigs would've gone smoother had they reintroduced Kinect with the likely VR headset after Xbox One had its foothold in the market. It's always been a nifty little thing I've just never seen it really used to its potential. Maybe now, maybe now.
 
Diablo 3 is worse. It's "Xbox, go to Diablo III Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition". Shortcut phrases would be nice.

really? that's fucked because I can simply say "playstation, Diablo" on my PS4 and it will navigate to that game. almost all other games have multiple phrases too, "GTA", "GTA5", "grand theft auto", "grand theft auto 5" all work.
 

vesvci

Banned
Trying to resurrect the Kinect? I guess they pumped millions into its R&D, might as well try to recoup the investment.

Great device, but poorly implemented and executed by the old Xbox executives. I won't hold my breath on this...
 

SpotAnime

Member
I was just wondering what Kudo Tsunoda was up to lately, and if he was still on the Kinect team.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-teases-kinect-director-s-next-project/1100-6424455/

I guess not. Although it might make sense his new project might have synergies with Kinect, as speculated in the article.

So what might Tsunoda be working on? One possibility is Microsoft's long-rumored Xbox VR headset, which we recently learned might be officially unveiled at E3 2015 in June. Development is reportedly far along, as Xbox VR development kits were recently sent to unnamed studios.

Another possibility is that Tsunoda is working on Microsoft's other head-mounted display technology, the Google Glass-like Fortaleza project that reportedly blends virtual reality and augmented reality. You can see a Fortaleza concept shot at right.

Back on topic, could the Kinect have a renewed life via these other initiatives?

On a side note, I always thought a good move for Microsoft would have been to implement limited backwards compatibility on the Xbox One, for Xbox 360 Kinect games only. They could have spun it as, "Remember all the functionality we promised you but couldn't fully deliver due to technological limitations? We now are able to realize them with the new Kinect for Xbox One and its improved capabilities."

Imagine, all those Kinect games people bought, they'd be able to put those to good use and find a use for the Xbox One Kinect at the same time. Would you think that would generate renewed interest in the hardware and the technology?
 

Alx

Member
I think that improvement will come with the rumoured Cortana integration, hopefully we'll find out this month.

There's really no reason it doesn't come to Xbox... and by the way I think it was Nadella who said that Cortana wouldn't be at its current state without the experience gathered with the first kinect.
People only focusing on the gaming market are missing the big picture. Of course video games should be profitable for them, but it's also a great training ground for new technologies, with many different applications and users who are (usually) open to novelty.
I can see the same model being used for other technologies like cloud computing or AR/VR. It wouldn't be the first time a useful tech debuts in pure entertainment, cars were once toys for rich people, cinematograph was an attraction at amusement parks, neuro-biology and electricity started as a parlor trick, ...
 

Dragon

Banned
The vitriol spewed about Kinect on GAF is laughable. Some of you act as if it is a direct attack against you.

Kinect has done absolutely nothing to inspire gamers whatsoever. And it sold gangbusters last gen. That's the laughable thing.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
really? that's fucked because I can simply say "playstation, Diablo" on my PS4 and it will navigate to that game. almost all other games have multiple phrases too, "GTA", "GTA5", "grand theft auto", "grand theft auto 5" all work.
Two questions -- Does it actually start the game, or just navigate to it?

And also-- Is there a voice command to record game footage without going into another menu?
 

aaronwt

Member
As an Xbox one owner, I'm aware. It made the os harder to use and less dependable than the ps4. Navigation is a bear on the Xbox one. Luckily they have been revising it to remove some of the crud caused by pushing the kinect.

??? Navigation has been much easer with Kinect for me. I can quickly navigate where ever I want to go with Kinect. Much quicker than without it on the Xbox One and quicker than I can navigate on my PS4 with the controller. Kinect is the one thing I use everytime my Xbox Ones are on. Plus i use Kinect to turn them on and off.
 

Kilau

Gold Member
Two questions -- Does it actually start the game, or just navigate to it?

And also-- Is there a voice command to record game footage without going into another menu?

I think it navigates to the game and then you say start.

You can say "start video" and "save video" to record your pre-set gameplay video length.

EDIT: It may actually be start video clip and save video clip

Just read that, can't remember if both commands work.
 

BriGuy

Member
What's the ratio of Kinect to Kinectless Xbox owners now? I imagine it's at least got to be 1:2. I hate to sound like a broken record, but that ship has sailed, crashed into an iceberg and sunk.
 

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
I think it navigates to the game and then you say start.

You can say "start video" and "save video" to record your pre-set gameplay video length.

EDIT: It may actually be start video clip and save video clip

Just read that, can't remember if both commands work.


Awesome. Appreciate it. One of my favourite X1 features, glad to see it's possible on PS4
 
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